There’s no single story that dominates the headlines, but floods feature widely across all the papers. In the first instance it seems the government has finally caught on to the fact that vast swathes of the country are under water and that the government may need to respond. Typically the government response is to blame someone else, in this case Pickles says the floods are down to failings at the Environment Agency, although its chair Chris Smith hit back at the accusations highlighting outdated government rules and spending cuts that have impacted the response to the floods. It is worth noting that the Con-Dem coalition cut annual flood defence spending by some £100 million and the agency will have lost a quarter of its staff by the end of the year. As they say you reap what you sow…

Speaking of which the other main story in the paper is the resignation over the weekend of Mark Harper, the immigration minister. The Telegraph headline sums it up most succinctly: “Minister claimed expenses to pay illegal immigrant to clean his flat” and the ex-minister could now face prosecution and a fine of up to £5,000 over the case. However, it is not all bad news for him as the Mirror reports that he will get an £8,000 pay off for resigning his position. More rewards for failure.

That brings us nicely to the start of the bonus season for bankers, the Mirror again asks the right questions highlighting the expected £80 billion bank bonanza which has been handed out since the 2008 financial crisis. The Mirror says that millions of families have suffered since 2008, but for high finance it seems to be business as usual. The simple calculation is that every person in the country could benefit to the tune of £1,250 if that bonus pool was properly shared.

Sadly, the top rate tax cut will only benefit the rich as the working poor suffer ever more, the Indie highlights how the working poor are being forced to use food banks during their lunch breaks as the old adage that ‘work pays’ no longer holds true, Britain needs a pay rise and it needs it now…